Sandy Shines Spotlight on Plight of New York City’s Hunger-Stricken

The number of hungry people in New York City is rising. Hurricane Sandy has increased the level of need.

Stephen Grimaldi (L), executive director of Yorkville Common Pantry, and Joel Berg (R), New York City Coalition Against Hunger executive director, during a conference held by the coalition at Yorkville Common Pantry on in New York on Nov. 20, 2012. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

NEW YORK—The number of people in New York going hungry on a daily basis has been on the rise for years, now Hurricane Sandy has caused the steady increase to spike.

A local advocacy group revealed Tuesday that 1.4 million New Yorkers live in households without enough food. Over 60 percent of food agencies across the city faced increased demands for food after the storm, according to a report.

New York City Coalition Against Hunger Executive Director Joel Berg said he hopes that the attention won’t go away after attention on the disaster goes away. “Things have gone from bad to worse over the past couple of years.”

“I am very happy today,” said Pena Altagracia with a smile, as she looked toward her shopping cart. Altagracia is a great grandmother, with five children, 19 grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. She had cabbages and other groceries, supplied by the Yorkville Common Pantry, to take back to the Bronx where she currently lives with two of her sons and five grandchildren.